“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10, NKJV
When I was in the eleventh grade, a friend met me in the hallway one September day right after the school year began, and said, “My friend, Richard Sharp wants me to ask if you will go to the ‘Back to School’ dance with him next weekend?” My response… “Why doesn’t he ask me himself?” Well, after receiving a personal invitation to the school dance from the somewhat shy young man resulted in the most exciting fifty years of my earthly life. Although Richard went to heaven eleven years ago, I have two beautiful daughters and four precious grandchildren to prove I made the right decision by saying, “yes.”
What if Richard had not taken the time to ask me out, would our paths have crossed at a future date? Maybe, maybe not, but I do know this—without some type of personal interaction at some point in time, Richard and I would not have had any relationship at all. How do I know this to be true? The obvious answer is that humans require interaction to build any type of relationship, meaningful or otherwise; I believe most logical and reasonable people agree with this provable and pivotal fact.
God created human beings with a need for personal relationships not only to give us the opportunity to experience a deep emotional connection with each other but also the opportunity to experience a deep emotional connection with our Creator. Therefore, two thousand years ago Jesus Christ, Immanuel [God with us] entered the world in the flesh, into the human experience to give us an opportunity to get to know Him by having a relationship with Him. Like Richard personally inviting me to the school dance, Jesus invites you and me to get to know Him by spending time with Him, while building a meaningful relationship that promises a present hope and an eternal deliverance. Sixty years ago, I said, yes, to Richard’s invitation; forty years ago, I said, yes, to the invitation of Jesus. I have never regretted accepting either invitation!
At this very moment, Jesus is inviting you into a personal relationship so you can get to know Him. Friend, will you say, yes?
